Although this block of flats was built by the local authority and maintained as social housing it seems likely that some of the flats were owner occupied – held on long leases – and probably subject to mortgages. A quick check on a publicly available website shows that 92 Grenfell Tower W11 1TG sold for £250,0 00 on 14th June 2013. There may have been other sales. Sales by the local authority to tenants subject to discounts are not generally listed on the search websites.
The practice of selling council flats to the tenants at below market value with generous discounts has implications for the future management of blocks since many of these flats end up being owned by investors who then rent them out at rents far higher than the original social housing rentals. See my article WINNERS AND LOSERS WITH RIGHT TO BUY FLATS Mortgage Finance Gazette September 2017.
One problem which may be highlighted in the Grenfell enquiry report is that it then becomes difficult to know precisely who was living in the flats, whether council tenants, owner occupiers or private tenants. It took some time after the fire was extinguished to establish how many occupants were unaccounted for and died.
Traditionally the respective roles of Architects and Surveyors in relation to blocks of flats conflict. Architects are concerned with designing the building and seeing it through to completion. They are receptive to new ideas and novel forms of construction. Surveyors, on the other hand, approach each property they inspect with a degree of scepticism looking for potential faults and thinking about long term future maintenance. Surveyors also look critically at safety issues not only in relation to fire but also potential hazards such as glazing, balconies and stairwells.
In the event of a fire the best course of action for any occupier to take is to evacuate assuming an accessible evacuation route is available and to do so as soon as possible. So stairwells should provide a protected means of escape being enclosed by fire resistant walls and accessed via self-closing fire-resistant doors. Large tall blocks should have at least two stairwells so that managed evacuation of residents can take place down one staircase whilst the fire brigade with their equipment can come up via another (lifts cannot be used in these circumstances).
When a surveyor inspects one of these buildings most of the important structural details will be hidden. Traditional construction using brick, stone and concrete is relatively easy to assess but a particular problem arises with modern methods of construction and especially timber framed buildings. These buildings are constructed as a series of compartments and the internal cavities between compartments have to be properly sealed and fire-stopped. However the fire barriers within the walls are often found, on examination, to be breached where holes have been cut to run services such as drainage and plumbing.
If the fire barriers within a building are not complete and effective then fire will spread rapidly but this feature of the construction cannot be checked without cutting into the walls and causing expensive and extensive damage. We are therefore forced to rely on whoever was responsible for the original design of the building and the workmen and women who put it together. As the Grenfell enquiry report is likely to highlight assuming that someone else has done their job properly can be dangerous.
The press continues to report the plight of flat owners unable to sell their flats because the building has, or is suspected of having, unsafe cladding. Mortgage lenders are not lending on flats in these blocks apparently. Matters are complicated by the fact that liability is contested and disputed with lots of scope for argument between the original developers, any warranty company, the current freeholders and the various flat owners who occupy on the basis of our peculiar English leasehold system.
Currently when a surveyor suspects that a flat is in a building with potentially unsafe cladding the mortgage application will be held up until a suitable professional report is produced. This may give the cladding the all clear. If the cladding is potentially combustible then the mortgage application will almost certainly be declined. This is an ongoing issue which will take some time to resolve.
Peter Glover is a Chartered Surveyor and author of
BUILDING SURVEYS and BUYING A HOUSE OR FLAT
